The third day began quietly.
Too quietly.
Garp didn't wake us in some sadistic fashion. No ice water. No being thrown into a lake. He even let us sleep until five in the morning—two full hours later than usual.
Which only made us more suspicious.
"Ace... why is Jii-chan so quiet?" Sabo whispered as we woke up and saw Garp sitting outside with a serious expression.
"No idea. But I have a bad feeling about this."
We stepped outside cautiously. Garp turned and smiled—but not his usual wide grin. This was a thin smile full of meaning.
"Good morning. Breakfast is ready. Eat as much as you want. You're going to need a lot of energy today."
A lavish breakfast had been laid out—mountains of rice, fried eggs, grilled meat, grilled fish, and even fresh fruit. It felt like a last meal before an execution.
We ate with mixed feelings—grateful for the good food, but afraid of whatever terrible thing was surely waiting.
After breakfast, Garp stood.
"Follow me."
He led us toward a place we had never visited—the deepest part of the forest, where the trees were enormous and tightly packed. Sunlight barely filtered through. The sounds of wild animals came from every direction.
In the heart of that forest was a large clearing. And standing there were... enormous creatures.
A bear five meters tall with claws like swords. A tiger with fangs the length of an adult's arm. There was even something that resembled a gorilla but was the size of a house.
"This..." Sabo went deathly pale. "Giant wild beasts?!"
"Yes. This is the deepest part of Dawn Island's forest—a place even experienced hunters don't dare enter," Garp explained casually. "The animals here have mutated from eating rare plants. Their strength is equivalent to pirates with bounties in the tens of millions."
I swallowed hard. This was insane.
"And your final exercise is..." Garp grinned broadly. "Surviving here for twelve hours. From six in the morning until six in the evening. Without Grandpa's help."
"TWELVE HOURS?!" we screamed in unison.
"Yes. You two will be left here. You must survive attacks from wild beasts, find your own food, and most importantly—don't die."
"Wait wait wait!" I protested loudly. "We're still children! This is too dangerous!"
"That's exactly why I said today's training is the hardest," Garp laughed. "But don't worry, Grandpa will watch from a distance. If it's truly a life-or-death situation, I'll step in. But beyond that, you have to handle it yourselves."
He unstrapped a large pack and threw it at us.
"Inside are basic supplies—water, some emergency rations, bandages, and simple weapons. Use them wisely."
Then he leapt straight up into the treetops and vanished—leaving the two of us completely alone in the middle of the dangerous forest.
A gripping silence fell.
Then a low growl came from the undergrowth to the left.
"Sabo... do we run or fight?" I whispered.
"Run first! Find somewhere safe to hold our ground!"
We sprinted with everything we had as a massive bear emerged from the bushes and immediately gave chase at a speed that was startling for a creature that size.
"FASTER! IT'S CHASING US!" Sabo shouted in panic.
I activated Observation Haki—scanning for the fastest and safest route. There was a gap between two enormous trees—narrow but wide enough for us to slip through.
"THAT WAY!"
We dove through the gap. The massive bear tried to follow but its body was too large—it got wedged between the trees.
ROAARRR!
It thrashed furiously, raking at the trees until they splintered apart—but we were already long gone.
"Hah... hah... safe for now..." Sabo panted.
But before we could rest, a hissing sound came from above.
A massive snake with gleaming black scales was coiled around a branch—staring down at us with dangerous yellow eyes.
"Why does it keep coming?!" I said in frustration. "Five minutes in and we've already run into two monsters!"
The snake struck with lightning speed—its jaws wide open with venom-dripping fangs.
"ACE! LEFT!"
I reflexively leapt left—the fangs bit into the ground where I had been standing. Smoke rose from the soil—the venom was so potent it was dissolving the earth!
"Sabo! Distract it! I'll burn it!"
Sabo moved immediately—throwing a rock at the snake's head. The snake turned furious and gave chase.
I channeled energy into my hands. Fire blazed—not an ordinary fireball but shaped into a sharp spear.
"HIKEN: SPEAR!"
The fire spear launched in a straight line—piercing directly through the giant snake's eye.
HISSSSSS!
The snake thrashed in agony—its massive body slamming wildly into the trees around it and shattering them. But eventually it went still—dead from the burns to its head.
"We did it..." I collapsed briefly. "But I used a lot of energy..."
"Don't waste energy carelessly. It's still a long way until six o'clock," Sabo reminded me while helping me up.
He was right. This was only the beginning. More than eleven hours still to go.
We needed to conserve energy and pick our battles carefully.
"Find high ground. From there we can survey the area and plan our approach," I suggested.
"Good idea. Over there—that big tree looks sturdy."
We climbed a tree twenty meters tall—high enough to be safe from most ground predators but not so high we'd become targets for aerial ones.
From above, we could see a vast forest with various giant creatures roaming below. Bears, tigers, wild boars the size of elephants, and even giant birds circling in the sky.
"This looks like a prehistoric island..." Sabo muttered, equal parts awestruck and terrified.
"Let's split the work. You keep watch with Observation Haki—warn me if anything dangerous gets close. I'll set up traps and defenses with fire."
"Got it!"
We worked together. Sabo sat with eyes closed—fully focused on Observation Haki to monitor the surrounding area. I descended slightly and created a ring of small fires around the base of the tree—not large, but enough to make wild animals hesitate before approaching.
Two hours passed quietly. Several animals came close but turned away at the sight of the fire.
But that peace shattered when—
"ACE! SOMETHING BIG IS COMING! REALLY BIG!"
I felt the ground vibrating. Growing stronger. Getting closer.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From behind the massive trees, a figure emerged that left us both speechless.
A giant gorilla ten meters tall. Muscles like boulders. Eyes burning red. And most terrifyingly—it looked INTELLIGENT. Not like an ordinary beast acting on pure instinct.
"Is that... One Piece's version of King Kong?!" Sabo screamed in panic.
The gorilla stared at us. Then looked at the ring of fire around our tree.
And it smiled—a smile that showed a dangerous level of cunning.
It picked up an enormous boulder and hurled it straight at us.
"JUMP!"
We leapt to the next tree as the boulder slammed into ours—CRACK—the tree split clean in two!
"It's too strong for a direct fight!" I shouted while continuing to leap from tree to tree, dodging thrown boulders.
"Then what do we do?!"
"We have to outsmart it! I have a plan!"
I whispered quickly to Sabo. He nodded—reluctantly—and immediately moved into position.
Sabo dropped down from the trees and ran into an open area—deliberately drawing the gorilla's attention.
"HEY UGLY MONKEY! OVER HERE!"
The gorilla flew into a rage—giving chase at a startling speed.
Meanwhile, I moved into position—climbing the tallest tree that stood in the path of Sabo's escape route.
Sabo kept running, continuously dodging thrown boulders and sweeping fist strikes. He pushed his Observation Haki to the absolute limit—predicting every attack and dodging with perfect timing.
When they passed directly beneath my tree—
"NOW!"
I leapt from above with both hands blazing fully. Every last bit of remaining energy gathered into a single strike.
"HIKEN: METEOR SLAM!"
I fell like a flaming meteor—both fists slamming squarely down onto the crown of the giant gorilla's head.
BOOOMMM!
A massive explosion of fire. The gorilla dropped to its knees—its head ringing from the impact.
"SABO! NOW!"
Sabo immediately turned back—sharpening a branch into an improvised spear tip. He drove it straight into the gorilla's eye.
"GYAAAAA!"
The gorilla erupted into a blind frenzy—swinging wildly and demolishing everything around it. But its movements became uncoordinated from the dizziness and the loss of one eye.
We pulled back fast—putting safe distance between ourselves and the thrashing giant.
Five minutes later, the gorilla finally collapsed—energy spent from its rampage. Not dead but completely unconscious.
"We did it..." I sat down heavily. "But I'm almost completely out of energy..."
"Me too... my hands are shaking everywhere..." Sabo collapsed beside me.
We rested somewhere safe while eating emergency rations and drinking water. Recovering a little energy.
The time was eleven in the morning. Seven more hours to go.
But we had passed the hardest test—defeating the most powerful predator in this forest.
The rest of the time was spent hiding, avoiding unnecessary conflict, and occasionally hunting smaller animals for additional food.
When six in the evening finally arrived—the sun beginning to sink below the horizon—Garp appeared suddenly from behind a tree.
"Time's up! You two survived!"
We both collapsed with relief—it was finally over!
"Magnificent! You even defeated the Forest King—the giant gorilla that even veteran hunters are afraid to face!" Garp laughed with pride. "Grandpa wasn't wrong about you! You two both have the potential to become monsters in the future!"
He scooped us both up—despite us being covered in wounds and filth—and carried us back to the hideout.
At the hideout, Dadan had prepared a great feast—mountains of food to celebrate our success.
"You two are absolutely insane for surviving in that forest!" Dadan said while tending to our wounds. "Even my grown underlings don't dare go in there!"
"We didn't want to go in either if there was any other option..." Sabo complained while wincing as his wounds were cleaned.
That night was the warmest night we'd had. Everyone laughed, ate together, and celebrated.
But I knew this was also a night of farewell.
Tomorrow Garp would return to Marine headquarters.
And we would return to regular training under Yamamoto.
Before bed, Garp called us outside.
"In these three days you've both developed tremendously. Your Armament Haki, Ace, is already at the level of a low-ranking Marine Captain. Your Observation Haki, Sabo, is even sharper than some Vice Admirals I know."
High praise from the Marine Hero himself.
"But don't stop here. Keep training. Keep growing stronger. Because one day..." he looked at us with grave seriousness. "One day you will face enemies that even Grandpa isn't certain he could defeat."
"Who?" I asked—though I already knew the answer.
"The World Government. If you truly choose to become pirates, they will be your greatest enemy. And they possess power that even legends fear."
Im-sama. The Gorosei. The Ancient Weapons. All the hidden threats that had yet to be fully revealed in the timeline.
"But Grandpa believes you can do it. With the power of D flowing in your blood, nothing is impossible."
The power of D. The will of D. The destiny carried by those who bore that initial.
"Now sleep. Tomorrow Grandpa has to leave early. Take care of yourselves. And take care of Luffy. That kid is going to become someone extraordinary one day."
We embraced—the first embrace, and perhaps the last for a long time.
"Thank you, Jii-chan," I whispered sincerely. "For everything."
"Gwahaha! No need to thank me! This is Grandpa's duty! Now sleep!"
The next morning, when we woke up, Garp was already gone.
There was only a short note on the table:
"Become strong. Become free. But don't forget—Grandpa will always be on your side, no matter what happens. — Garp"
I folded the note and kept it carefully.
Three days of hell had passed.
And we emerged far stronger than before.
The flame of destiny burned brighter.
Forged by a hero.
Ready to face a cruel world.
This was only the beginning.
The beginning of a legend yet to be born.
TO BE CONTINUED